Aerialist plans tightrope walk near Grand Canyon

Credit: Getty Images

NIAGARA FALLS, NY - JUNE 15: Aerialist Nik Wallenda tighropes over the Niagara Falls June 15, 2012 in Niagara Falls, New York. Wallenda walked across the 1,800 foot 2 inch-wide wire Friday night as the first person to cross directly over the falls from the U.S. into Canada. Wallenda, 33 and a father of three, is a seventh generation member of the famed Flying Wallendas who trace their roots to 1780 Austria-Hungary, when ancestors traveled as a band of acrobats, aerialists, jugglers, animal trainers and trapeze artists. ABC televised the event and insisted the daredevil wear a teathered harness to prevent live coverage of a potentially deadly fall 190 feet into the churning torrent below. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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SARASOTA, Florida (AP) -- Aerialist Nik Wallenda says he's planning a tightrope walk near the Grand Canyon, but he won't be wearing a safety harness like he used at Niagara Falls.

Wallenda told Sarasota Herald-Tribune (http://bit.ly/R8yTh7 ) Tuesday that he has signed a contract with an unnamed cable network to broadcast the roughly half-mile (0.8-kilometer) walk.

In June, the 33-year-old Florida aerialist crossed a 1,800-foot (550-meter) span over Niagara Falls. The event was televised live by network ABC, which required Wallenda to wear a safety harness despite his protests.

The paper says his contract for the walk near the Grand Canyon specifies that he doesn't need a harness.

No date or exact location has been announced. Wallenda says he's in negotiation with two American Indian tribes whose reservations border Grand Canyon National Park.